Chapter 97: Price Difference Between Two Realms
“How could it be this expensive?”
Upon careful thought, used spirit jade did indeed have its uses. However, if one wished to ward off malevolent demonic Camity Qi, there were definitely more effective materials avaible. Why resort to something akin to a used disposable cup?
Even so, the rarity of a material was determined not only by its inherent properties—one also had to consider the broader environment of the world.
“Customer, are you looking to purchase empty spirit stones?”
The shop assistant greeted him with genuine enthusiasm. Although her experience suggested the man before her likely could not afford empty spirit stones, she showed no trace of contempt or condescension.
It was not merely about professional ethics—it was a lesson learned in blood.
After all, this was the bck market, frequented by desperate criminals wishing to conceal their identities. They might ck money, but that hardly meant they cked deadly methods!
Although An Jing’s strength appeared lower than hers, caution was essential; no one knew what hidden trump cards he might hold.
If she had to gamble with her life, it ought to be for a good reason. Why offend a customer over a meager sary and risk losing her life in the process?
With that mindset, the shop assistant happened to see the customer draw a milky, semi-translucent white jade from within his robes… and her eyes instantly widened!
“Empty spirit stone?!” she gasped in a hushed voice, incredulous. “How could this be?”
Next, the shop assistant heard the customer—his features concealed beneath a rain cloak and conical hat—speak in a low voice: “I’d like to know if you buy empty spirit stones here. And what price might you offer for them?”
The staff at Little Ochre Mountain cked the authority to purchase rare materials—particurly since the empty spirit stone An Jing presented weighed a bit over two liang, pushing its value beyond three thousand merit points.
A single merit point was equivalent to one hundred credit points, sufficient for a day of comfortable living (excluding accommodation costs).
Excluding commission and insurance, a Little Ochre Mountain shop assistant made about fifty or sixty merit points a month—a fairly decent wage.
For ordinary citizens of Xuanye City, three thousand merit points was an immense fortune.
Before long, the person in charge made her appearance.
She was a woman whose face was obscured by a mosaic projection. Wearing a light?brown fur coat that highlighted her graceful figure, she had dark?gray hair cascading down her back, casually tied into a single bundle.
Though she seemed quite beautiful, this female manager carried herself with striking efficiency, and her aura radiated danger. An Jing frowned slightly; the stench of blood around her was even heavier than what he had sensed on members of the Heavenly Will Demonic Sect. The instant she stepped inside, it felt as though a cold wind swept through, causing the shop assistant to shiver involuntarily.
Her strength was impressive, too.
“Sixth yer of Qi Refining,” the Sword Spirit remarked, sounding puzzled. “Her foundation is quite solid; under normal circumstances, she should have already advanced to the mid?stage of Qi Refining, begun nurturing her essence and spirit, and attained emptiness and stillness.
“Why would she still be stuck here?”
An Jing kept the Sword Spirit’s misgivings in mind and prepared to negotiate with the female Steward.
“You want to sell?”
Once she had questioned the clerk about what had happened, the female manager walked over to An Jing, gnced at the empty spirit stone in his hand, and said gravely, “I’ll say this first—our purchase price is quite low. In return, we won’t ask any additional questions.”
“We won’t ask how you obtained it, nor will we inquire about your background.”
“I’ll sell.”
The female manager was straightforward, and An Jing did not hesitate. “But I don’t have a chip. How do you pn to transfer that many merit points to me?”
“A barbarian?”
On hearing An Jing’s statement, the female Steward turned her head to examine him.
Though her features were blurred by the mosaic, it was clear she felt some difficulty. “For rge?scale physical proof of merit points, we’d have to request them from headquarters… You likely came here to buy something anyway, right? How about a direct exchange of goods?”
—Of course, there was no problem with that!
That was precisely what An Jing intended. All he truly wanted was jade?cleaving steel; he cared little about receiving merit points. As long as he could obtain the resources he needed, anything would suffice.
Still, to avoid revealing any cracks in his facade, he pretended to hesitate, as though deep in thought.
“Have the arbiter come.”
At that, the female manager signaled the shop assistant to summon the bck market’s arbiter—an individual who acted as an official witness for high?value dealings.
As An Jing had already noted, the “bck” in “bck market” simply referred to its illicit nature. Xuanye City was teeming with all manner of people, and no one knew who might secretly be a major figure. Consequently, transactions here were conducted with utmost formality.
After the shop assistant left and the pce was otherwise deserted, the female manager moved closer to An Jing and whispered, “You have spirit stones on you.”
An Jing’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly. Without the conical hat’s hanging veil, his reaction would have been obvious—clearly something he needed to work on. Swiftly regaining composure, he responded in a low voice, “Bck market rules: you don’t question a person’s background.”
“This has nothing to do with your background—I didn’t ask about that. I’m certain.”
Speaking in a composed tone, the female manager said, “It’s not uncommon for a barbarian to stumble upon a small, unpolluted spirit stone vein in the wilderness. The empty spirit stone in your hand has only been used in the past couple of weeks; its inner spirit core hasn’t fully dried up yet. That’s completely different from the empty spirit stones we store in our city for half a year to ensure they’re one hundred percent vacant.”
“I really don’t care about your background; I have only one question. Do you have any spirit stones that have never been used?”
“I’m prepared to pay a private premium. But you’d best make up your mind soon—once the others arrive, this offer is off the table.”
An Jing went quiet for a moment. Knowing the clerk and the arbiter would not return immediately, the female Steward merely stood by, waiting patiently.
An Jing wasn’t actually pondering the question; he was conversing with the Sword Spirit.
“How long would a single spirit stone sustain a basic cultivator like me in your era?”
An Jing asked, “I used up an entire one during Spirit Awakening, but that was a special case. I could feel my spiritual root absorbing an immense amount of spiritual energy, which doesn’t seem normal… In typical circumstances, how long would a spirit stone st for cultivation? And just how valuable is that pure spiritual energy?”
He refrained from asking about its current market price, as the ancient Huaixu Realm where the Sword Spirit once resided was clearly different from the modern Tianyuan Realm. In this age, spirit stones were no longer ordinary cultivation resources; they were strategic assets of immense value.
Still, even in the more recent Huaixu Realm, while spirit stones were scarce, they were not priceless. After all, the Medicine Manor Lord had carried two on his person at all times.
Even if those two were among his most jealously guarded possessions, they were hardly on the same level as strategic materials.
“If yours is ordinary in quality, a single piece would be enough for a month of cultivation in the Qi Refining stage. As for the two spirit stones the Hanging Fate Manor Lord carried, they were intended for ready cultivation anytime.”
The Sword Spirit continued, “The spiritual energy within spirit jade acts as a ‘primer’ that helps cultivators draw in and refine the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy around them… As long as the earth veins remain active in the jade, it can keep generating more. Therefore, aside from higher?grade spirit jade, this lower?grade variety isn’t exceptionally precious. A cultivator in the Spirit Awakening stage could earn two or three spirit stones a month, enough not only for cultivation but also with some surplus left over.”
“Even for non-cultivators—provided they belonged to moderately prosperous households—half a year of diligent work might earn them a piece of spirit jade. Back then, if a cultivator was short on silver or gold, they’d occasionally pay in spirit jade instead, which led to a fair amount circuting among ordinary people.”
(End of Chapter)
